Memory operations management in computing systems

ABSTRACT

Techniques of memory operations management are disclosed herein. One example technique includes retrieving, from a first memory, data from a data portion and metadata from a metadata portion of the first memory upon receiving a request to read data corresponding to a system memory section. The method can then include analyzing the data location information to determine whether the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request. In response to determining that the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, transmitting the retrieved data from the data portion of the first memory to the processor in response to the received request. Otherwise, the method can include identifying a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section and retrieving the data from the identified memory location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/163,183, filed Mar. 19, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In computing, memory typically refers to a computing component that is used to store data for immediate access by a central processing unit (CPU) in a computer or other types of computing device. In addition to memory, a computer can also include one or more computer storage devices (e.g., a hard disk drive or HDD) that persistently store data on the computer. In operation, data, such as instructions of an application can first be loaded from a computer storage device into memory. The CPU can then execute the instructions of the application loaded in the memory to provide computing services, such as word processing, online meeting, etc.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In computing devices, memory can include both cache memory and main memory. Cache memory can be a very high-speed memory that acts as a buffer between the main memory and a CPU to hold frequently used data and instructions for immediate availability to the CPU. For example, certain computers can include Double Data Rate (DDR) Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (SDRAM) packaged with a CPU as cache memory for the CPU. Such cache memory is sometimes referred to as “near memory” for being proximate to the CPU. In addition to the near memory, the CPU can also interface with the main memory via Compute Express Link (CXL) or other suitable types of interface protocols. The main memory can sometimes be referred to as “far memory” due to being at farther distances from the CPU than the near memory.

Using DDR SDRAM as cache memory for a CPU can have certain drawbacks. For example, the near memory is typically more expensive than the far memory and not available to be accessed by or even visible to an Operating System (OS) on a computing device. Instead, the CPU has exclusive control over the near memory. In addition, near memory devices, such as DDR SDRAM, can be very expensive. In some datacenter servers, costs of DDR SDRAM used as near memory can be up to about fifty percent of the total costs of the datacenter servers. Thus, if the near memory can be visible to and accessible by the OS, capital investments for the datacenter servers and associated costs for providing various computing services from the datacenter servers can be significantly reduced.

Several embodiments of the disclosed technology are directed to implementing memory tiering according to which near memory is used as a swap buffer for far memory instead of being dedicated cache memory for a CPU in a computing device. As such, the CPU can continue caching data in the near memory while the near memory and the far memory are exposed to the OS as addressable and allocatable system memory. In certain implementations, a hardware memory controller can be configured to control swapping operations at a cache-line granularity (e.g., 64 bytes). As such, the computing device would not need any software intervention or cause software impact. In other implementations, a memory controller with both hardware and software components may be used for controlling such swapping operations.

The ratio of storage spaces between near memory and far memory can be flexible. For instance, the ratio between near memory and far memory can be one to any integer greater than or equal to one. In an illustrative example, a range of system memory addresses can be covered by a combination of near memory and far memory in a ratio of one to three. As such, the range of system memory can be divided into four sections, e.g., A, B, C, and D. Each section can include a data portion (e.g., 512 bits) and a metadata portion (e.g., 128 bits). The data portion can be configured to contain data representing user data or instructions executable by the CPU in the computing device. The metadata portion can include data representing various attributes of the data in the data portion. For instance, the metadata portion can include Error Checking and Correction (ECC) bits or other suitable types of information.

In accordance with several embodiments of the disclosed technology, several bits (e.g., ECC bits) in the metadata portion in the near memory can be configured to indicate (1) which section of the range of system memory the near memory current holds; and (2) locations of additional sections of the range of system memory in the far memory. For instance, in the example above with four sections of system memory, eight bits in the metadata portion in the near memory can be configured to indicate the foregoing information. For instance, a first pair of first two bits can be configured to indicate which section is currently held in the near memory as follows:

Bit 1 Bit 2 Section ID 0 0 A 0 1 B 1 0 C 1 1 D As such, a memory controller can readily determine that the near memory contains data from section A of the system memory when Bit 1 and Bit 2 contains zero and zero, respectively.

In the illustrated example above, while the first two bits correspond to the near memory, the additional six bits can be subdivided into three pairs individually corresponding to a location in the far memory mapped to corresponding sections of the range of system memory. For instance, the second, third, and four pairs can each correspond to a first, second, or third location in the far memory, as follows:

First pair (Bit 1 and Bit 2) Near memory Second pair (Bit 3 and Bit 4) First location in far memory Third pair (Bit 5 and Bit 6) Second location in far memory Fourth pair (Bit 7 and Bit 8) Third location in far memory

As such, the memory controller can readily determine where data from a section of the system memory is in the far memory even though the data is not currently in the near memory. For instance, when the second pair (i.e., Bit 3 and Bit 4) contains (0, 0), the memory controller can be configured to determine that data corresponding to Section A of the system memory is in first location in the far memory. Though the foregoing example uses eight bits in the metadata portion to encode locations of the individual sections of the range of system memory, in other implementations, other suitable numbers of bits in the metadata portion may be used to encode the same information. For instance, in the illustrated examples above with four sections, five, six, or seven bits may be used to encode location information of the sections.

Using the data from the metadata portion in the near memory, the memory controller can be configured to manage swap operations between the near and far memory in order to use the near memory as a swap buffer. For instance, during a read operation, the memory controller can be configured to read from the near memory to retrieve data from both the data portion and the metadata portion of the near memory. The memory controller can then be configured to determine which section of the system memory the retrieved data corresponds to using the tables above, and whether the determined section matches a target section to be read. For instance, when the target section is section A, and the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller can be configured to determine that the retrieved data is from section A. Thus, the memory controller can forward the retrieved data from Section A to a requesting entity, such as an application or OS executed on the computing device.

On the other hand, when the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 1) instead of (0, 0), for example, the memory controller can be configured to determine that the retrieved data belongs to section B (referred to as “B data”), not section A (referred to as “A data”). The memory controller can then continue to examine the additional bits in the metadata portion to determine which pair of bits contains (0, 0). For example, when the second pair (Bit 3 and Bit 4) from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller can be configured to determine that A data is located at the first location in the far memory. In response, the memory controller can be configured to read A data from the first location in the far memory and provide the A data to the requesting entity. The memory controller can then be configured to write the retrieved A data into the near memory and the previously retrieved B data to the first section in the far memory. The memory controller can also be configured to modify the bits in the metadata portion in the near memory to reflect the swapping of data between section A and section B in the near memory.

During a write operation, the memory controller can be configured to first read the data from the metadata portion in the near memory. The memory controller can be configured to then determine data from which section of the system memory is currently held in the near memory, and whether the determined section matches a target section to be written. For instance, when the target section for the write operation is section A, and the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller can be configured to determine that A data is currently in the near memory. In response, the memory controller can be configured to overwrite the data in the data portion of the near memory and report a completion of the write operation.

On the other hand, when the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 1), then the memory controller can be configured to determine that data B is currently in the near memory. In response, the memory controller can be configured to refrain from writing to the near memory and instead continue examining the additional bits of the metadata portion to determine which pair of bits contains (0, 0). For example, when the second pair (Bit 3 and Bit 4) from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller can be configured to determine that A data is currently located at the first location in the far memory. In response, the memory controller can be configured to write to the first location in the far memory instead of the near memory. Upon completion, the memory controller can be configured to report a completion of the write operation.

Several embodiments of the disclosed technology can improve operations and performance of a computing device by allowing memory previously used as cache memory and invisible to an OS to be configured as system memory addressable by the OS. For instance, instead of using the near memory as dedicated cache memory for the CPU, the near memory can be used as allocatable system memory while continue to provide caching functionality to the CPU via the swapping operations described above. By increasing the amount of addressable system memory, computing or other suitable types of latency can be decreased in the computing device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a distributed computing system implementing memory operations management in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating certain hardware/software components of the distributed computing system of FIG. 1 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of tiering of system memory in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic timing diagrams illustrating example read operations of using near memory as a swap buffer in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic timing diagrams illustrating example write operations of using near memory as a swap buffer in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 6 is a computing device suitable for certain components of the distributed computing system in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments of systems, devices, components, modules, routines, data structures, and processes for memory operations management are described below. In the following description, specific details of components are included to provide a thorough understanding of certain embodiments of the disclosed technology. A person skilled in the relevant art will also understand that the technology can have additional embodiments. The technology can also be practiced without several of the details of the embodiments described below with reference to FIGS. 1-6. For example, instead of being implemented in datacenters or other suitable distributed computing systems, aspects of the memory operations management technique disclosed herein can also be implemented on personal computers, smartphones, tablets, or other suitable types of computing devices.

As used herein, the term “distributed computing system” generally refers to an interconnected computer system having multiple network nodes that interconnect a plurality of servers or hosts to one another and/or to external networks (e.g., the Internet). The term “network node” generally refers to a physical network device. Example network nodes include routers, switches, hubs, bridges, load balancers, security gateways, or firewalls. A “host” generally refers to a physical computing device. In certain embodiments, a host can be configured to implement, for instance, one or more virtual machines, virtual switches, or other suitable virtualized components. For example, a host can include a server having a hypervisor configured to support one or more virtual machines, virtual switches, or other suitable types of virtual components. In other embodiments, a host can be configured to execute suitable applications directly on top of an operating system.

A computer network can be conceptually divided into an overlay network implemented over an underlay network in certain implementations. An “overlay network” generally refers to an abstracted network implemented over and operating on top of an underlay network. The underlay network can include multiple physical network nodes interconnected with one another. An overlay network can include one or more virtual networks. A “virtual network” generally refers to an abstraction of a portion of the underlay network in the overlay network. A virtual network can include one or more virtual end points referred to as “tenant sites” individually used by a user or “tenant” to access the virtual network and associated computing, storage, or other suitable resources. A tenant site can host one or more tenant end points (“TEPs”), for example, virtual machines. The virtual networks can interconnect multiple TEPs on different hosts. Virtual network nodes in the overlay network can be connected to one another by virtual links individually corresponding to one or more network routes along one or more physical network nodes in the underlay network. In other implementations, a computer network can only include the underlay network.

Also used herein, the term “near memory” generally refers to memory that is physically proximate to a processor (e.g., a CPU) than other “far memory” at a distance from the processor. For example, near memory can include one or more DDR SDRAM dies that is incorporated into an Integrated Circuit (IC) component package with one or more CPU dies via an interposer and/or through silicon vias. In contrast, far memory can include additional memory on accelerators, memory buffers, or smart I/O devices that the CPU can interface with via CXL or other suitable types of protocols. For instance, in datacenters, multiple memory devices on multiple servers/server blades may be pooled to be allocatable to a single CPU on one of the servers/server blades. The CPU can access the allocated far memory via a computer network in datacenters.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a distributed computing system 100 implementing memory operations management in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology. As shown in FIG. 1, the distributed computing system 100 can include an underlay network 108 interconnecting a plurality of hosts 106, a plurality of client devices 102 associated with corresponding users 101, and a platform controller 125 operatively coupled to one another. The platform controller 125 can be a cluster controller, a fabric controller, a database controller, and/or other suitable types of controller configured to monitor and manage resources and operations of the servers 106 and/or other components in the distributed computing system 100. Even though components of the distributed computing system 100 are shown in FIG. 1, in other embodiments, the distributed computing system 100 can also include additional and/or different components or arrangements. For example, in certain embodiments, the distributed computing system 100 can also include network storage devices, additional hosts, and/or other suitable components (not shown) in other suitable configurations.

As shown in FIG. 1, the underlay network 108 can include one or more network nodes 112 that interconnect the multiple hosts 106 and the client device 102 of the users 101. In certain embodiments, the hosts 106 can be organized into racks, action zones, groups, sets, or other suitable divisions. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the hosts 106 are grouped into three host sets identified individually as first, second, and third host sets 107 a-107 c. Each of the host sets 107 a-107 c is operatively coupled to a corresponding network nodes 112 a-112 c, respectively, which are commonly referred to as “top-of-rack” network nodes or “TORs.” The TORs 112 a-112 c can then be operatively coupled to additional network nodes 112 to form a computer network in a hierarchical, flat, mesh, or other suitable types of topology. The underlay network can allow communications among hosts 106, the platform controller 125, and the users 101. In other embodiments, the multiple host sets 107 a-107 c may share a single network node 112 or can have other suitable arrangements.

The hosts 106 can individually be configured to provide computing, storage, and/or other suitable cloud or other suitable types of computing services to the users 101. For example, as described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2, one of the hosts 106 can initiate and maintain one or more virtual machines 144 (shown in FIG. 2) or containers (not shown) upon requests from the users 101. The users 101 can then utilize the provided virtual machines 144 or containers to perform database, computation, communications, and/or other suitable tasks. In certain embodiments, one of the hosts 106 can provide virtual machines 144 for multiple users 101. For example, the host 106 a can host three virtual machines 144 individually corresponding to each of the users 101 a-101 c. In other embodiments, multiple hosts 106 can host virtual machines 144 for the users 101 a-101 c.

The client devices 102 can each include a computing device that facilitates the users 101 to access computing services provided by the hosts 106 via the underlay network 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the client devices 102 individually include a desktop computer. In other embodiments, the client devices 102 can also include laptop computers, tablet computers, smartphones, or other suitable computing devices. Though three users 101 are shown in FIG. 1 for illustration purposes, in other embodiments, the distributed computing system 100 can facilitate any suitable numbers of users 101 to access cloud or other suitable types of computing services provided by the hosts 106 in the distributed computing system 100.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating certain hardware/software components of the distributed computing system 100 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology. FIG. 2 illustrates an overlay network 108′ that can be implemented on the underlay network 108 in FIG. 1. Though particular configuration of the overlay network 108′ is shown in FIG. 2, In other embodiments, the overlay network 108′ can also be configured in other suitable ways. In FIG. 2, only certain components of the underlay network 108 of FIG. 1 are shown for clarity.

In FIG. 2 and in other Figures herein, individual software components, objects, classes, modules, and routines may be a computer program, procedure, or process written as source code in C, C++, C#, Java, and/or other suitable programming languages. A component may include, without limitation, one or more modules, objects, classes, routines, properties, processes, threads, executables, libraries, or other components. Components may be in source or binary form. Components may include aspects of source code before compilation (e.g., classes, properties, procedures, routines), compiled binary units (e.g., libraries, executables), or artifacts instantiated and used at runtime (e.g., objects, processes, threads).

Components within a system may take different forms within the system. As one example, a system comprising a first component, a second component and a third component can, without limitation, encompass a system that has the first component being a property in source code, the second component being a binary compiled library, and the third component being a thread created at runtime. The computer program, procedure, or process may be compiled into object, intermediate, or machine code and presented for execution by one or more processors of a personal computer, a network server, a laptop computer, a smartphone, and/or other suitable computing devices.

Equally, components may include hardware circuitry. A person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that hardware may be considered fossilized software, and software may be considered liquefied hardware. As just one example, software instructions in a component may be burned to a Programmable Logic Array circuit or may be designed as a hardware circuit with appropriate integrated circuits. Equally, hardware may be emulated by software. Various implementations of source, intermediate, and/or object code and associated data may be stored in a computer memory that includes read-only memory, random-access memory, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and/or other suitable computer readable storage media excluding propagated signals.

As shown in FIG. 2, the source host 106 a and the destination hosts 106 b and 106 b′ (only the destination hosts 106 b is shown with detail components) can each include a processor 132, a memory 134, a network interface card 136, and a packet processor 138 operatively coupled to one another. In other embodiments, the hosts 106 can also include input/output devices configured to accept input from and provide output to an operator and/or an automated software controller (not shown), or other suitable types of hardware components.

The processor 132 can include a microprocessor, caches, and/or other suitable logic devices. The memory 134 can include volatile and/or nonvolatile media (e.g., ROM; RAM, magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices, and/or other suitable storage media) and/or other types of computer-readable storage media configured to store data received from, as well as instructions for, the processor 132 (e.g., instructions for performing the methods discussed below with reference to FIGS. 5A-5D). Though only one processor 132 and one memory 134 are shown in the individual hosts 106 for illustration in FIG. 2, in other embodiments, the individual hosts 106 can include two, six, eight, or any other suitable number of processors 132 and/or memories 134.

The source host 106 a and the destination host 106 b can individually contain instructions in the memory 134 executable by the processors 132 to cause the individual processors 132 to provide a hypervisor 140 (identified individually as first and second hypervisors 140 a and 140 b) and an operating system 141 (identified individually as first and second operating systems 141 a and 141 b). Even though the hypervisor 140 and the operating system 141 are shown as separate components, in other embodiments, the hypervisor 140 can operate on top of the operating system 141 executing on the hosts 106 or a firmware component of the hosts 106.

The hypervisors 140 can individually be configured to generate, monitor, terminate, and/or otherwise manage one or more virtual machines 144 organized into tenant sites 142. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the source host 106 a can provide a first hypervisor 140 a that manages first and second tenant sites 142 a and 142 b, respectively. The destination host 106 b can provide a second hypervisor 140 b that manages first and second tenant sites 142 a′ and 142 b′, respectively. The hypervisors 140 are individually shown in FIG. 2 as a software component. However, in other embodiments, the hypervisors 140 can be firmware and/or hardware components. The tenant sites 142 can each include multiple virtual machines 144 for a particular tenant (not shown). For example, the source host 106 a and the destination host 106 b can both host the tenant site 142 a and 142 a′ for a first tenant 101 a (FIG. 1). The source host 106 a and the destination host 106 b can both host the tenant site 142 b and 142 b′ for a second tenant 101 b (FIG. 1). Each virtual machine 144 can be executing a corresponding operating system, middleware, and/or applications.

Also shown in FIG. 2, the distributed computing system 100 can include an overlay network 108′ having one or more virtual networks 146 that interconnect the tenant sites 142 a and 142 b across multiple hosts 106. For example, a first virtual network 142 a interconnects the first tenant sites 142 a and 142 a′ at the source host 106 a and the destination host 106 b. A second virtual network 146 b interconnects the second tenant sites 142 b and 142 b′ at the source host 106 a and the destination host 106 b. Even though a single virtual network 146 is shown as corresponding to one tenant site 142, in other embodiments, multiple virtual networks 146 (not shown) may be configured to correspond to a single tenant site 146.

The virtual machines 144 can be configured to execute one or more applications 147 to provide suitable cloud or other suitable types of computing services to the users 101 (FIG. 1). For example, the source host 106 a can execute an application 147 that is configured to provide a computing service that monitors online trading and distribute price data to multiple users 101 subscribing to the computing service. The virtual machines 144 on the virtual networks 146 can also communicate with one another via the underlay network 108 (FIG. 1) even though the virtual machines 144 are located on different hosts 106.

Communications of each of the virtual networks 146 can be isolated from other virtual networks 146. In certain embodiments, communications can be allowed to cross from one virtual network 146 to another through a security gateway or otherwise in a controlled fashion. A virtual network address can correspond to one of the virtual machines 144 in a particular virtual network 146. Thus, different virtual networks 146 can use one or more virtual network addresses that are the same. Example virtual network addresses can include IP addresses, MAC addresses, and/or other suitable addresses. To facilitate communications among the virtual machines 144, virtual switches (not shown) can be configured to switch or filter packets directed to different virtual machines 144 via the network interface card 136 and facilitated by the packet processor 138.

As shown in FIG. 2, to facilitate communications with one another or with external devices, the individual hosts 106 can also include a network interface card (“NIC”) 136 for interfacing with a computer network (e.g., the underlay network 108 of FIG. 1). A NIC 136 can include a network adapter, a LAN adapter, a physical network interface, or other suitable hardware circuitry and/or firmware to enable communications between hosts 106 by transmitting/receiving data (e.g., as packets) via a network medium (e.g., fiber optic) according to Ethernet, Fibre Channel, Wi-Fi, or other suitable physical and/or data link layer standards. During operation, the NIC 136 can facilitate communications to/from suitable software components executing on the hosts 106. Example software components can include the virtual switches 141, the virtual machines 144, applications 147 executing on the virtual machines 144, the hypervisors 140, or other suitable types of components.

In certain implementations, a packet processor 138 can be interconnected to and/or integrated with the NIC 136 to facilitate network traffic operations for enforcing communications security, performing network virtualization, translating network addresses, maintaining/limiting a communication flow state, or performing other suitable functions. In certain implementations, the packet processor 138 can include a Field-Programmable Gate Array (“FPGA”) integrated with the NIC 136.

An FPGA can include an array of logic circuits and a hierarchy of reconfigurable interconnects that allow the logic circuits to be “wired together” like logic gates by a user after manufacturing. As such, a user 101 can configure logic blocks in FPGAs to perform complex combinational functions, or merely simple logic operations to synthetize equivalent functionality executable in hardware at much faster speeds than in software. In the illustrated embodiment, the packet processor 138 has one interface communicatively coupled to the NIC 136 and another coupled to a network switch (e.g., a Top-of-Rack or “TOR” switch) at the other. In other embodiments, the packet processor 138 can also include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (“ASIC”), a microprocessor, or other suitable hardware circuitry. In any of the foregoing embodiments, the packet processor 138 can be programmed by the processor 132 (or suitable software components associated therewith) to route packets inside the packet processor 138 to achieve various aspects of time-sensitive data delivery, as described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 3A-5.

In operation, the processor 132 and/or a user 101 (FIG. 1) can configure logic circuits in the packet processor 138 to perform complex combinational functions or simple logic operations to synthetize equivalent functionality executable in hardware at much faster speeds than in software. For example, the packet processor 138 can be configured to process inbound/outbound packets for individual flows according to configured policies or rules contained in a flow table such as a MAT. The flow table can contain data representing processing actions corresponding to each flow for enabling private virtual networks with customer supplied address spaces, scalable load balancers, security groups and Access Control Lists (“ACLs”), virtual routing tables, bandwidth metering, Quality of Service (“QoS”), etc.

As such, once the packet processor 138 identifies an inbound/outbound packet as belonging to a particular flow, the packet processor 138 can apply one or more corresponding policies in the flow table before forwarding the processed packet to the NIC 136 or TOR 112. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the application 147, the virtual machine 144, and/or other suitable software components on the source host 106 a can generate an outbound packet destined to, for instance, other applications 147 at the destination hosts 106 b and 106 b′. The NIC 136 at the source host 106 a can forward the generated packet to the packet processor 138 for processing according to certain policies in a flow table. Once processed, the packet processor 138 can forward the outbound packet to the first TOR 112 a, which in turn forwards the packet to the second TOR 112 b via the overlay/underlay network 108 and 108′.

The second TOR 112 b can then forward the packet to the packet processor 138 at the destination hosts 106 b and 106 b′ to be processed according to other policies in another flow table at the destination hosts 106 b and 106 b′. If the packet processor 138 cannot identify a packet as belonging to any flow, the packet processor 138 can forward the packet to the processor 132 via the NIC 136 for exception processing. In another example, when the first TOR 112 a receives an inbound packet, for instance, from the destination host 106 b via the second TOR 112 b, the first TOR 112 a can forward the packet to the packet processor 138 to be processed according to a policy associated with a flow of the packet. The packet processor 138 can then forward the processed packet to the NIC 136 to be forwarded to, for instance, the application 147 or the virtual machine 144.

In certain embodiments, the memory 134 can include both cache memory and main memory (not shown). Cache memory can be a very high-speed memory that acts as a buffer between the main memory and the processor 132 to hold frequently used data and instructions for immediate availability to the processor 132. For example, certain computers can include Double Data Rate (DDR) Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (SDRAM) packaged with a processor 132 as cache memory for the processor 132. Such cache memory is sometimes referred to as “near memory” for being proximate to the processor 132. In addition to the near memory, the processor 132 can also interface with the main memory via Compute Express Link (CXL) or other suitable types of interface protocols. The main memory can sometimes be referred to as “far memory” due to father distances from the processor 132 than the near memory.

The use of DDR SDRAM as cache memory for a processor 132 can have certain drawbacks. For example, the near memory is typically more expensive than the far memory and not available to be accessed by or even visible to an operating system (OS) on a computing device. Instead, the processor 132 has exclusive control over the near memory. In addition, near memory devices, such as DDR SDRAM, can be very expensive. In some datacenter servers, costs of DDR SDRAM as near memory can be up to about fifty percent of the total costs of the servers. Thus, if the near memory can be visible to and accessible by the operating system 141, capital investments for the servers and associated costs for providing various computing services from the hosts 106 can be significantly reduced.

Several embodiments of the disclosed technology are directed to implementing memory tiering according to which near memory is used as a swap buffer for far memory instead of being used as dedicated cache memory for the processor 132. As such, the processor 132 can continue caching data in the near memory while the near memory and the far memory are exposed to the operating system 141 as addressable system memory. In certain implementations, a hardware memory controller (not shown) can be configured to control swapping operations at a cache-line granularity (e.g., 64 bytes). As such, the host 106 would not experience any software intervention or impact. In other implementations, a memory controller with both hardware and software components may be used for controlling such swapping operations.

A ratio of storage space between near memory and far memory can be flexible. For instance, the ratio between near memory and far memory can be one to any integer greater than or equal to one. In an illustrative example shown in FIG. 3A, a range of system memory address 150 is covered by a combination of near memory 151 and far memory 153 in a ratio of one to three. As such, the range of system memory 150 can be divided into four sections 152, e.g., A, B, C, and D (identified in FIG. 3A as 152A-152D, respectively). Each section can include a data portion 156 (e.g., 512 bits) and a metadata portion 154 (e.g., 128 bits). The data portion 156 can be configured to contain data representing user data or instructions executed in the host 106 (FIG. 2). The metadata portion 154 can include data representing various attributes of the data in the data portion 156. For instance, the metadata portion 154 can include error checking and correction bits or other suitable types of information.

In accordance with several embodiments of the disclosed technology, several bits in the metadata portion 154 in the near memory 151 can be configured to indicate (1) which section of the range of system memory the near memory 151 current holds; and (2) locations of additional sections of the range of system memory in the far memory. In the example with four sections of system memory 150, eight bits in the metadata portion 154 in the near memory 151 can be configured to indicate the foregoing information. For instance, a first pair of first two bits can be configured to indicate which section 152 is currently held in the near memory 151 as follows:

Bit 1 Bit 2 Section ID 0 0 A 0 1 B 1 0 C 1 1 D As such, a memory controller 135 can readily determine that the near memory 151 contains data from section A of the system memory when the Bit 1 and Bit 2 contains zero and zero, respective, as illustrated in FIG. 3A.

While the first two bits correspond to the near memory 151, the additional six bits can be subdivided into three pairs individually corresponding to a location in the far memory 153, as illustrated in FIG. 3B. For instance, the second, third, and four pairs can each correspond to a first, second, or third location in the far memory 153, as follows:

First pair (Bit 1 and Bit 2) Near memory Second pair (Bit 3 and Bit 4) First location in far memory Third pair (Bit 5 and Bit 6) Second location in far memory Fourth pair (Bit 7 and Bit 8) Third location in far memory

As such, the memory controller 135 can readily determine where data from a particular section of the system memory 150 is in the far memory 153 even though the data is not currently in the near memory 151. For instance, when the second pair (i.e., Bit 3 and Bit 4) contains (1, 1), the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that data corresponding to Section D of the system memory 150 is in first location 158A in the far memory 153. When the third pair (i.e., Bit 5 and Bit 6) contains (1, 0), the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that data corresponding to Section C of the system memory 150 is in second location 158B in the far memory 153. When the fourth pair (i.e., Bit 7 and Bit 8) contains (0, 1), the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that data corresponding to Section B of the system memory 150 is in third location 158C in the far memory 153, as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

Using the data from the metadata portion 154 in the near memory 151, the memory controller 135 can be configured to manage swap operations between the near memory 151 and the far memory 153 using the near memory 151 as a swap buffer. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, during a read operation, the CPU can issue a command to the memory controller 135 to read data corresponding to section A when such data is not currently residing in a last level cache of the CPU. In response, the memory controller 135 can be configured to read from the near memory to retrieve data from both the data portion and the metadata portion of the near memory. The memory controller 135 can then be configured to determine which section of the system memory the retrieved data corresponds to using the tables above, and whether the determined section matches a target section to be read. For instance, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the target section is section A, and the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that the retrieved data is from section A (i.e., “A data”). Thus, the memory controller 135 can forward the retrieved A data from Section A to a requesting entity, such as an application executed by the CPU on the computing device.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 1) instead of (0, 0), the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that the retrieved data belongs to section B (referred to as “B data”), not section A data. The memory controller 135 can then continue to examine the additional bits in the metadata portion to determine which pair of bits contains (0, 0). For example, when the second pair (Bit 3 and Bit 4) from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that A data is located at the first location in the far memory. In response, the memory controller 135 can be configured to read A data from the first location in the far memory and provide the A data to the requesting entity. The memory controller 135 can then be configured to write the retrieved A data into the near memory and the previously retrieved B data to the first section in the far memory. The memory controller 135 can also be configured to modify the bits in the metadata portion in the near memory to reflect the swapping between section A and section B.

During a write operation, as shown in FIG. 5A, the memory controller 135 can be configured to first read the data from the metadata portion in the near memory. The memory controller 135 can then determine data from which section of the system memory is currently held in the near memory, and whether the determined section matches a target section to be written. For instance, when the target section is section A, and the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that A data is currently in the near memory. Thus, the memory controller 135 can overwrite the data in the data portion of the near memory and report a completion of the write operation.

On the other hand, when the first two bits from the metadata portion contains (0, 1), then the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that data B is currently in the near memory. In response, the memory controller 135 can be configured to refrain from writing to the near memory and instead continue examining the additional bits of the metadata portion to determine which pair of bits contains (0, 0). For example, when the second pair (Bit 3 and Bit 4) from the metadata portion contains (0, 0), then the memory controller 135 can be configured to determine that A data is located at the first location in the far memory. In response, the memory controller 135 can be configured to write to the first location in the far memory instead of the near memory and report a completion of the write operation.

Several embodiments of the disclosed technology can improve operations and performance of a computing device by allowing memory previously used as cache memory and invisible to an OS to be configured as system memory addressable by the OS. For instance, instead of using the near memory as dedicated cache memory for the CPU, the near memory can be used as allocatable system memory while continue to provide caching functionality to the CPU via the swapping operations described above. By increasing the amount of addressable system memory, computing or other suitable types of latency can be decreased in the computing device.

FIG. 6 is a computing device 300 suitable for certain components of the distributed computing system 100 in FIG. 1. For example, the computing device 300 can be suitable for the hosts 106, the client devices 102, or the platform controller 125 of FIG. 1. In a very basic configuration 302, the computing device 300 can include one or more processors 304 and a system memory 306. A memory bus 308 can be used for communicating between processor 304 and system memory 306.

Depending on the desired configuration, the processor 304 can be of any type including but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller (μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. The processor 304 can include one more level of caching, such as a level-one cache 310 and a level-two cache 312, a processor core 314, and registers 316. An example processor core 314 can include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating-point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. An example memory controller 318 can also be used with processor 304, or in some implementations memory controller 318 can be an internal part of processor 304.

Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory 306 can be of any type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combination thereof. The system memory 306 can include an operating system 320, one or more applications 322, and program data 324. As shown in FIG. 11, the operating system 320 can include a hypervisor 140 for managing one or more virtual machines 144. This described basic configuration 302 is illustrated in FIG. 8 by those components within the inner dashed line.

The computing device 300 can have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between basic configuration 302 and any other devices and interfaces. For example, a bus/interface controller 330 can be used to facilitate communications between the basic configuration 302 and one or more data storage devices 332 via a storage interface bus 334. The data storage devices 332 can be removable storage devices 336, non-removable storage devices 338, or a combination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storage media can include volatile and nonvolatile, removable, and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. The term “computer readable storage media” or “computer readable storage device” excludes propagated signals and communication media.

The system memory 306, removable storage devices 336, and non-removable storage devices 338 are examples of computer readable storage media. Computer readable storage media include, but not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media which can be used to store the desired information, and which can be accessed by computing device 300. Any such computer readable storage media can be a part of computing device 300. The term “computer readable storage medium” excludes propagated signals and communication media.

The computing device 300 can also include an interface bus 340 for facilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., output devices 342, peripheral interfaces 344, and communication devices 346) to the basic configuration 302 via bus/interface controller 330. Example output devices 342 include a graphics processing unit 348 and an audio processing unit 350, which can be configured to communicate to various external devices such as a display or speakers via one or more NV ports 352. Example peripheral interfaces 344 include a serial interface controller 354 or a parallel interface controller 356, which can be configured to communicate with external devices such as input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports 358. An example communication device 346 includes a network controller 360, which can be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices 362 over a network communication link via one or more communication ports 364.

The network communication link can be one example of a communication media. Communication media can typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and can include any information delivery media. A “modulated data signal” can be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media can include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein can include both storage media and communication media.

The computing device 300 can be implemented as a portion of a small-form factor portable (or mobile) electronic device such as a cell phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a personal media player device, a wireless web-watch device, a personal headset device, an application specific device, or a hybrid device that include any of the above functions. The computing device 300 can also be implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computer configurations.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the disclosure. In addition, many of the elements of one embodiment may be combined with other embodiments in addition to or in lieu of the elements of the other embodiments. Accordingly, the technology is not limited except as by the appended claims. 

We claim:
 1. A method of memory management in a computing device having a processor, a first memory proximate to and configured as a cache for the processor, a second memory separate from and interfaced with the processor, and a memory controller configured to manage operations of the first and second memory, the method comprising: receiving, at the memory controller, a request from the processor to read data corresponding to a system memory section from the cache of the processor; and in response to receiving the request to read, with the memory controller, retrieving, from the first memory, data from a data portion and metadata from a metadata portion of the first memory, the metadata from the metadata portion encoding data location information of multiple system memory sections in the first memory and the second memory; analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata from the metadata portion of the first memory to determine whether the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; and in response to determining that the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, transmitting the retrieved data from the data portion of the first memory to the processor in response to the received request.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; and retrieving the data from the identified memory location in the second memory and providing the retrieved data to the processor in response to the received request.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieving the data from the identified memory location in the second memory and providing the retrieved data to the processor in response to the received request; and writing, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieving the data from the identified memory location in the second memory; writing, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory; and modifying the metadata in the metadata portion of the first memory to indicate that the data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request is now in the first memory.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieving the data from the identified memory location in the second memory; writing, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory; and writing, to the identified memory location in the second memory, the retrieved data from the first memory.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieving the data from the identified memory location in the second memory; writing, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory; writing, to the identified memory location in the second memory, the retrieved data from the first memory; and modifying the metadata in the metadata portion of the first memory to indicate that: the data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request is now in the first memory; and the data previously held in the first memory is now in the identified memory location in the second memory.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein: the metadata from the metadata portion includes one or more bits; and the data location information includes combinations of the one or more bits that individually correspond to one of the multiple system memory sections; and analyzing the data location information includes: identifying a combination of the one or more bits; and determining whether the identified combination corresponds to the system memory section in the received request.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein: the metadata from the metadata portion includes one or more Error Checking and Correction (ECC) bits; and the data location information includes combinations of the one or more ECC bits that individually correspond to one of the multiple system memory sections; and analyzing the data location information includes: identifying a combination of the one or more ECC bits; and determining whether the identified combination of ECC bits corresponds to the system memory section in the received request.
 9. A computing device, comprising: a processor; a first memory proximate to and configured as a cache for the processor; a second memory separate from and interfaced with the processor; and a memory controller configured to manage operations of the first and second memory, wherein the memory controller having instructions executable by the memory controller to: upon receiving a request from the processor to read data corresponding to a system memory section from the cache of the processor, retrieve, from the first memory, data from a data portion and metadata from a metadata portion of the first memory, the metadata from the metadata portion encoding data location information of multiple system memory sections in the first memory and the second memory; analyze the data location information in the retrieved metadata from the metadata portion of the first memory to determine whether the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; and in response to determining that the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, transmit the retrieved data from the data portion of the first memory to the processor in response to the received request.
 10. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the memory controller includes additional instructions executable to: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyze the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; and retrieve the data from the identified memory location in the second memory and providing the retrieved data to the processor in response to the received request.
 11. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the memory controller includes additional instructions executable to: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyze the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieve the data from the identified memory location in the second memory and providing the retrieved data to the processor in response to the received request; and write, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory.
 12. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the memory controller includes additional instructions executable to: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyze the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieve the data from the identified memory location in the second memory; write, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory; and modify the metadata in the metadata portion of the first memory to indicate that the data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request is now in the first memory.
 13. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the memory controller includes additional instructions executable to: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyze the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieve the data from the identified memory location in the second memory; write, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory; and write, to the identified memory location in the second memory, the retrieved data from the first memory.
 14. The computing device of claim 9 wherein the memory controller includes additional instructions executable to: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyze the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; retrieve the data from the identified memory location in the second memory; write, to the first memory, the retrieved data from the identified memory location in the second memory; write, to the identified memory location in the second memory, the retrieved data from the first memory; and modify the metadata in the metadata portion of the first memory to indicate that: the data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request is now in the first memory; and the data previously held in the first memory is now in the identified memory location in the second memory.
 15. The computing device of claim 9 wherein: the metadata from the metadata portion includes one or more bits; and the data location information includes combinations of the one or more bits that individually correspond to one of the multiple system memory sections; and to analyze the data location information includes: identify a combination of the one or more bits; and determine whether the identified combination corresponds to the system memory section in the received request.
 16. A method of memory management in a computing device having a processor, a first memory proximate to and configured as a cache for the processor, a second memory separate from and interfaced with the processor, and a memory controller configured to manage operations of the first and second memory, the method comprising: receiving, at the memory controller, a request from the processor to write a block of data corresponding to a system memory section to the cache of the processor; and in response to receiving the request to write the block of data, with the memory controller, retrieving, from the first memory, metadata from a metadata portion of the first memory, the metadata from the metadata portion encoding data location information of multiple system memory sections in the first memory and the second memory; analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata from the metadata portion of the first memory to determine whether the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; and in response to determining that the first memory currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, writing the block of data corresponding to the system memory section to the first memory; and indicating, to the processor, a completion of writing the block of data.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; and writing the block of data to the identified memory location in the second memory; and indicating, to the processor, a completion of writing the block of data.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising: in response to determining that the first memory currently does not contain data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request, further analyzing the data location information in the retrieved metadata to identify a memory location in the second memory that currently contains data corresponding to the system memory section in the received request; maintaining data currently in the first memory; writing the block of data to the identified memory location in the second memory instead of the first memory; and indicating, to the processor, a completion of writing the block of data.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein: the metadata from the metadata portion includes one or more bits; and the data location information includes combinations of the one or more bits that individually correspond to one of the multiple system memory sections; and analyzing the data location information includes: identifying a combination of the one or more bits; and determining whether the identified combination corresponds to the system memory section in the received request.
 20. The method of claim 17 wherein: the metadata from the metadata portion includes one or more Error Checking and Correction (ECC) bits; and the data location information includes combinations of the one or more ECC bits that individually correspond to one of the multiple system memory sections; and analyzing the data location information includes: identifying a combination of the one or more ECC bits; and determining whether the identified combination of ECC bits corresponds to the system memory section in the received request. 